Digital broadcasting system and data processing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A digital broadcasting system and a data processing method thereof are provided. An apparatus for generating a transport stream includes a packet generator for generating a plurality of packets by compressing video and audio signals; a counter for counting the number of the generated packets and outputting the count result; and an information controller for determining whether the count result of counting reaches a predetermined number of packets, inserting packet start information into the packets according to the count result, and transmitting the packets with the packet start information inserted therein. The packet start information is added to a packet to be transmitted in a transmitter, and the packet start information is extracted from the received packet in a receiver, so that the waste of frequency resources can be reduced.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/416,258filed on May 3, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/788,707 filed on Apr. 4, 2006, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting system and adata processing method thereof, and more particularly, to a digitalbroadcasting system and a data processing method which can reduce wasteof frequency resources, via efficient transmission and reception ofpackets.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, the type of a television (TV) broadcasting has been rapidlychanging over from analog to digital, and satellite broadcasting systemssuch as Koreasat in Korea, DirecTV in the United States, SKY PerfecTV!in Japan, and others, have already adopted digital television (DTV)systems. In terrestrial broadcasting, ATV (Advanced TV) in the UnitedStates, and DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) in Europe have rapidlypropelled the advance of digital TV broadcasting.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical digital TV broadcasting system and aprocess of transmitting a TV program from a broadcasting station to abase station. Referring to FIG. 1, a digital TV broadcasting system 100includes at least a broadcasting station 110 and multiple base stations120A-120N arranged within different coverage areas. The broadcastingstation 110 generates a broadcasting signal in the form of packets bycompressing and packetizing video and audio signals obtained through,for example, a camera and a microphone, respectively, using a modulator(not shown), and transmits the broadcasting packets, via a transmissionchannel (e.g., optical cables or wireless). The respective base stations120A-120N, which may be located in different parts of the country, arearranged to receive the broadcast signal for processing accordingly.Each base station is typically provided with a transceiver (i.e., atransmitter and a receiver) capable of transmitting and receiving thebroadcast signal.

In this case, broadcast packets are sequentially transmitted one by one.A transmitter, which is installed in a respective base station,processes the broadcast packet transmitted from the broadcasting station110 in the unit of a frame, and transmits the processed broadcast signalto broadcast receivers, such as TV receivers that belong to apredetermined communication area. Here, the respective base stations120A-120N have fixed transmission ranges in which broadcast signals canbe transmitted, respectively.

Such broadcast packets or frames may be provided in diverse forms. Whenframes are generated in a transmitter of the respective base station120A-120N, the transmitter forms the frames by successively accumulatingthe transmitted broadcast packets. However, if the transmitter is in an“OFF” state, the transmitter cannot receive the broadcast packets, eventhough the broadcast packets are transmitted from the broadcastingstation 110. When the transmitter is turned “ON”, frames are formed byaccumulating the received broadcast packets. Accordingly, the respectivebase stations 120A-120N may receive broadcast packets in differentorders depending on the “ON/OFF” state of the transmitters, and in thiscase, the broadcast packets included in one frame may differ for therespective base stations 120A-120N.

As the transmitters of the respective base stations 120A-120N receivethe broadcast packets in different orders, the frames formed through therespective base stations 120A-120N are not identical. Accordingly, in anarea where the same broadcast signals are received from two or more basestations 120A-120N, interference may occur between the broadcastsignals. As a result, the broadcast signal may not be received at abroadcast receiver.

To prevent this type of interference, the respective base stations120A-120N generally use separate channels, i.e., different frequencies.In the case of using a single frequency, a method of preventing theoverlapping of communication ranges of the respective base stations120A-120N has been used in order to prevent the broadcast signals frombeing received from two or more base stations 120A-120N. However, in thecase where the respective base stations 120A-120N use separate channels,frequency resources can be wasted. In addition, in the case ofpreventing the overlapping of the communication ranges of the respectivebase stations, areas where broadcast receivers cannot receive any of thebroadcast signals from the respective base stations 120A-120N may occurinevitably.

Accordingly, a new technique is required to prevent waste of frequencyresources by making the respective base stations 120A-120N use the samechannel and prevent the occurrence of any area where the broadcastsignals cannot be received.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Several aspects and example embodiments of the present invention providea digital broadcasting system and a data processing method thereof,which can reduce the waste of frequency resources and conform to auser's convenience by transmitting/receiving packets using packet startinformation.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the present invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of thepresent invention.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus for generating a transport stream, which comprisesa packet generator to generate a plurality of packets; a counterarranged to count the number of packets generated and provide a countvalue; and a controller arranged to determine whether the count valuereaches a predetermined number of packets, to insert packet startinformation into the packets, and to transmit the packets having thepacket start information inserted therein in a transport stream.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data processing method for a transport stream generationapparatus, which comprises generating a plurality of packets bycompressing video and audio signals; counting the number of packetsgenerated and providing a count value; and determining whether the countvalue reaches a predetermined number of packets, inserting packet startinformation into the packets according to the count value, andtransmitting the packets having the packet start information insertedtherein in a transport stream.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided adigital broadcast transmission apparatus, which comprises a sync settingunit arranged to set a clock synchronization for the transmission of atransport stream in the form of packets; and a frame generator arrangedto make a determination of whether packet start information thatindicates a start packet of a frame has been inserted into a next packetsubsequent to the packet among a plurality of packets received, andgenerate a frame based on the determination.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided adata processing method for a digital broadcast transmission apparatus,which comprises setting a clock synchronization for the transmission ofa transport stream in the form of packets; and arranging to make adetermination of whether packet start information that indicates a startpacket of a frame has been inserted into a next packet subsequent to thepacket among a plurality of packets received, and generating a framebased on the determination.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided adigital broadcasting system, which comprises a multiplexer forgenerating a plurality of packets by compressing video and audio signalsand having information related to the order of the plurality of packets;and a digital broadcast transmitter for receiving the plurality ofpackets and the information related to the order of the plurality ofpackets from the multiplexer, and processing the plurality of packetsaccording to the order.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided adata processing method for a digital broadcasting system, whichcomprises generating a plurality of packets by compressing video andaudio signals; generating information related to the order of theplurality of packets; and transmitting the plurality of packets and theinformation related to the order of the plurality of packets to atransmitter.

In addition to the example embodiments and aspects as described above,further aspects and embodiments will be apparent by reference to thedrawings and by study of the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of example embodiments and theclaims when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, allforming a part of the disclosure of this invention. While the followingwritten and illustrated disclosure focuses on disclosing exampleembodiments of the invention, it should be clearly understood that thesame is by way of illustration and example only and that the inventionis not limited thereto. The spirit and scope of the present inventionare limited only by the terms of the appended claims. The followingrepresents brief descriptions of the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical digital TV broadcasting system and aprocess of transmitting a TV program from a broadcast station to a basestation;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram an example transport stream (TS) constructionunit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of an example dual transport streamaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for operating a multiplexer accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example data frame in accordance with an ATSC VSBtype of a digital broadcasting system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of an exampledigital broadcast transmitter according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for operating a digital broadcasttransmitter according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a portion ofan example digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

In accordance with a digital broadcasting system according to anembodiment of the present invention, a broadcasting station is providedwith a multiplexer to broadcast packets, and base stations are providedwith respective transceivers (i.e., transmitters and receivers). When abroadcasting station provided with a multiplexer transmits broadcastpackets to base stations provided with transmitters, information about astart packet indicating the start of a frame is shared by themultiplexer and the transmitters, so that the transmitters of therespective base stations form the same frame.

In a terrestrial-wave digital television (DTV) broadcasting system inthe U.S., in accordance with an ATSC (Advanced Television SystemsCommittee) VSB (Vestigial Side Band) standard, a dual transport stream(TS) can be used. Such a dual transport stream (TS) includes a normalstream and a turbo stream.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an example transport stream(TS) construction unit for generating a dual transport stream (TS)according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.Referring to FIG. 2, the TS construction unit 200 includes an RS(Reed-Solomon) encoder 210, a place holder maker 220, an interleaver,and a TS multiplexer 240. For purposes of simplicity, the RS encoder 210and the interleaver 230 can be omitted, and the positions of the RSencoder 210 and the interleaver 230 can be changed.

At the TS construction unit 200, a normal stream and a turbo stream arereceived. In this case, the normal stream is directly input to the TSmultiplexer, and the turbo stream is input to the TS multiplexer 240through the RS encoder 210, the place holder maker 220, and theinterleaver 230. The RS encoder adds a parity to the turbo stream, andthe place holder maker 220 generates a parity insertion region forinserting the parity to be added into the turbo stream.

The interleaver 230 interleaves the turbo stream received from the placeholder maker 220. The TS multiplexer 240 multiplexes the normal streamand the turbo stream to construct a dual transport stream (TS). Then,the TS multiplexer 240 generates the broadcast packets by packetizingthe constructed dual transport stream (TS). The TS multiplexer 240includes a packet generator 241, a counter 243, and an informationcontroller 245. The packet generator 241 forms the dual transport stream(TS) by combining the normal stream and the turbo stream, and the dualtransport stream (TS) is packaged in the form of packets.

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of an example dual transport stream(TS) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter,the construction and operation of the multiplexer 240 will be explainedwith reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the dual transport stream (TS), a turbo streamhas 78 packets which is inserted into packets of 312 segments of onefield of a dual transport stream. The dual transport stream (TS) isconstructed so that four packets, which include one packet (188 bytes)of the turbo stream and three packets (188 bytes) of the normal stream,are repeatedly arranged in the ratio of 1:3. In the case that the turbostream of 78 packets is inserted into 312 segments of the dual transportstream (TS), the dual transport stream (TS) is constructed so that fourpackets, which include one packet (188 bytes) of the turbo stream andthree packets (188 bytes) of the normal stream (in the ratio of 1:3),are repeated 78 times.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the counter 243 counts the number of dualtransport stream (TS) packets formed by the packet generator 241, andoutputs the result of counting.

The information controller 245, if the count result that is receivedfrom the counter 243 reaches a predetermined number of packets thatconstitute one frame according to the standard of the digitalbroadcasting system, adds packet start information to the packet whenthe count result reaches the predetermined number of packets, andtransmits the packet with the packet start information added thereto.This packet with the packet start information added thereto is called aVFIP (VSB Frame Initialization Packet).

Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the information controller 245 addsthe packet start information to a header of the packet, which iscomposed of 3 bytes, and transmits the packet with the packet startinformation to the base stations (as shown, for example, in FIG. 1). Inthis case, it is preferable that the packet start information is addedto a packet identifier (PID) region of the header. Here, the packetstart information represents information indicating that the next packetafter the packet to which the packet start information has been added isthe first packet of the next frame.

If the count result received from the counter 243 is not equal to thepredetermined number of packets, the information controller 245transmits the dual transport stream packet formed by the packetgenerator 241 as it is. That is, the information controller 245 does notadd the packet start information to the packet, when the count result isnot equal to the predetermined number of packets, and transmits the dualtransport stream packet outputted from the packet generator 241 to thebase stations (as shown, for example, in FIG. 1).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart provided to explain a method for operating amultiplexer according to an embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 5 illustrates an example frame formed by an ATSC VSB typetransmitter in a digital broadcasting system according to an embodimentof the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the packet generator 241 included in theTS multiplexer 240 generates a dual transport stream (TS) by combining anormal stream and a turbo stream, and in this case, the dual transportstream (TS) is in the form of packets at operation S410. That is, thepacket generator 241 generates the dual transport stream (TS) bymultiplexing the input normal stream and turbo stream, and provides thedual transport stream (TS) in the form of packets.

Then, the counter 243 counts the dual transport stream packets, andoutputs the count result at operation S420. Then, the informationcontroller 245 determines whether the count result reaches apredetermined number of packets that constitute one frame according tothe standard of the digital broadcasting system at operation S430.

If the count result reaches the predetermined number of packets, theinformation controller 245 adds packet start information to a header ofthe packet at operation S440. This packet to which the packet startinformation has been added is called the VFIP (VSB Frame InitializationPacket). Here, the packet start information represents informationindicating that the next packet after the packet to which the packetstart information has been added is the first packet of the next frame.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, each frame is composed of two fields,and each field is composed of one field sync segment that is the firstsegment, and 312 data segments. In the case where the packet startinformation is set to be added every 20 frames, for example, theinformation controller 345 adds the packet start information to theheader of the packet when the count result at operation S420 reaches apredetermined number, such as 12,480. Here, 12,480 represents the numberof packets that corresponds to 20 frames except for the field syncsegments.

That is, one frame except for the field sync segments is composed of 624packets, and 20 frames are composed of 12,480 (=624*20) packets. Theinformation controller 345 adds the packet start information, whichindicates that the next packet (i.e., the 12,481st packet) is the startpacket of the next frame, to the header of the last packet, i.e., the12,480th packet, of the 20th frame. Then, the information controller 245included in the TS multiplexer 240, as shown in FIG. 2, transmits thepacket to the base stations (as shown, for example, in FIG. 1) atoperation S450.

Specifically, if the count result reaches the predetermined number ofpackets, the information controller 245 transmits the VFIP that is thepacket to which the packet start information has been added at operationS440 to the base stations. If the count result has not reached thepredetermined number of packets, the information controller 245 includedin the TS multiplexer 240 transmits the dual transport stream packetgenerated by the packet generator 241 as it is. That is, with respect tothe packet in which the count result has not reached the predeterminednumber of packets, i.e., the packet that is not the VFIP, theinformation controller 245 included in the TS multiplexer 240 transmitsthe dual transport stream packet outputted at operation S410 to the basestations (as shown, for example, in FIG. 1).

On the other hand, in the TS multiplexer 240 according to an embodimentof the present invention, the information controller 245 for addingpacket start information to a header of the packet, or for constructinga plurality of frames with the predetermined number of packets are onlyexemplary, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The packetinformation controller 245 adds packet start information to the packetdepending on whether the count result is equal to the predeterminednumber of packets, irrespective of the frame unit or field unit. Also,in the TS multiplexer 240 according to the present invention, the packetstart information that is added to the header of the packet is alsoapplicable to a single transport stream packet.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the construction of an example digital broadcasttransmitter according to an embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. Referring to FIG. 6, the digital broadcast transmitter 600includes a randomizer 610, an RS encoder 620, an interleaver 630, atrellis encoder 640, a multiplexer 650, and a modulator 660. However,for purposes of simplicity and brevity, the RS encoder 620 and theinterleaver 630 can be omitted, and the positions of the RS encoder 620and the interleaver 630 can be changed.

The randomizer 610 randomizes the dual transport stream (TS). Here, thedual transport stream (TS) input to the randomizer 610 is obtained bymultiplexing the normal stream and the turbo stream, and includes aparity region for adding the parity.

The RS encoder 620 adds the parity to the parity region included in thepacket of the input dual transport stream (TS). The RS encoder 620 is inthe form of a concatenated coder for adding the parity to the transportstream (TS) in order to correct an error that may occur due the channelcharacteristics in the course of packet transmission.

The interleaver 630 interleaves the dual transport stream (TS) inputfrom the RS encoder 620. Here, the term “interleaving” does not mean thechange of data, but means the position change of data in the data frame.

The trellis encoder 640 performs a trellis encoding of the dualtransport stream (TS) interleaved by the interleaver 630, and stores thetrellis-encoded dual transport stream (TS) in a packet buffer (notshown) for temporarily storing the received dual transport stream (TS).

The multiplexer 650 sets the clock synchronization of the TSconstruction unit 200 and the digital broadcast transmitter 600 equal toeach other using a Global Positioning System (GPS), determines whetherthe received dual transport stream (TS) packet is the VFIP, andconstructs a frame by adding the segment sync signal and the field syncsignal to the dual transport stream (TS) on the basis of the result ofsuch a determination. The multiplexer 650 includes a sync setting unit651 and a frame generator 653.

The sync setting unit 651 uses the GPS to set the clock synchronizationof the TS construction unit 200 and the digital broadcast transmitter600.

Specifically, during the transmission/reception of a dual transportstream (TS), the sync setting unit 651 receives a time sync signal ofpredetermined bits through an artificial satellite, and sets the clocksynchronization of the TS multiplexer 240 of the TS construction unit200, as shown in FIG. 2, and the multiplexer 650 of the digitalbroadcast transmitter 600, as shown in FIG. 6, based on the time syncsignal.

The frame generator 653, if the clock synchronization is set by the syncsetting unit 651, determines whether the received dual transport stream(TS) packet is the VFIP, and outputs the result of such a determination.Here, the VFIP is a packet to which the packet start information isadded, and indicates that the next packet is the first packet of thenext frame.

Specifically, the frame generator 653 discards the received dualtransport stream (TS) packet if the received packet is not the VFIP,while generating a frame by gathering the predetermined number ofpackets that are received after the VFIP if the received packet is theVFIP. In this case, the frame generator 653 determines whether thereceived packet is the VFIP by detecting the existence/nonexistence ofthe packet start information added to the header of the received packet.

Also, the frame generator 653 constructs a frame by grouping thepredetermined number of packets after the VFIP until the packet that isthe next VFIP is received. In this case, if the VFIP is received afterthe initial VFIP, the frame generator 653 uses the received VFIP as averification packet, and regenerates a frame by gathering thepredetermined number of packets received after the verification packet.

The modulator 660 performs a channel modulation of the dual transportstream (TS) multiplexed by the multiplexer 650, and converts themodulated transport stream (TS) into an RF channel band signal totransmit the converted RF channel band signal, via a transmissionchannel.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart explaining a method for operating a digitalbroadcast transmitter according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 7, the sync setting unit 651 sets the clocksynchronization of the TS construction unit 200, as shown in FIG. 2, andthe digital broadcast transmitter 600, as shown in FIG. 6, using the GPSat operation S710.

Specifically, during the transmission/reception of a dual transportstream, the sync setting unit 651 receives a time sync signal ofpredetermined bits through an artificial satellite, and sets the clocksynchronization of the TS multiplexer 240 of the TS construction unit200, as shown in FIG. 2, and the multiplexer 650 of the digitalbroadcast transmitter 600, as shown in FIG. 6, based on the time syncsignal.

The frame generator 653, if the clock synchronization is set, determineswhether the received dual transport stream (TS) is the VFIP at operationS720. Here, the VFIP is a packet to which the packet start informationis added, and indicates that the next packet is the first packet of thenext frame.

Specifically, the frame generator 653 determines whether the receiveddual transport stream (TS) packet is the VFIP by detecting theexistence/nonexistence of the packet start information added to theheader of the received packet. That is, the frame generator 653determines the received packet as the VFIP if the packet startinformation has been added to the header of the received packet, whiledetermining the received packet as a packet that is not the VFIP if thepacket start information has not been added to the header of thereceived packet.

If the received packet is the VFIP, the frame generator 653 generates aframe by gathering the predetermined number of packets, starting fromthe first packet received after the VFIP at operation S730. In thiscase, it is preferable that one frame is composed of 624 packets exceptfor the field sync segments. The frame generator 653 generates a frameby grouping 624 packets received after the VFIP, and then generates aframe by grouping 624 packets in succession. Here, it is exemplifiedthat the number of packets constituting one frame is set to 624.However, this is only an exemplary, and the present invention is notlimited thereto.

Then, the frame generator 653 determines whether a verification packetis received at operation S740. Here, the verification packet is a VFIPreceived by the frame generator 653 after the first VFIP is received. Ifthe verification packet is received, the frame generator 653 verifiesthe frame by checking the number of packets that have been gathered togenerate the frame at operation S750. For example, if the frame iscomposed of 624 packets, the frame generator 653 checks if 624 packetsincluding the verification packet have been gathered. If 624 packetshave been gathered, the frame generator 653 determines that the framesare properly constructed, and continuously generates the frames.

If 624 packets have not been gathered, the frame generator 653 discardsall the packets that have been gathered for the frame generation, andregenerates a frame by gathering 624 packets received after theverification packet at operation S760.

Finally, if the received packet is not the VFIP at operation S720, theframe generator 653 discards the received packet at operation S770.

On the other hand, in the digital broadcast transmitter and the signalprocessing method thereof, it is also applicable to a single transportstream packet to generate a frame by determining whether the receivedpacket is the VFIP packet to which the packet start information isadded.

Turning now to FIG. 8, the construction of a portion of an exampledigital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated. Referring to FIG. 8, the digital broadcastreceiver 800 includes a demodulator 810 and an equalizer 820. Thedigital broadcast receiver 800 receives the RF channel band signaltransmitted from the digital broadcast transmitter 600 in FIG. 6. Asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 6, the transmitted RF channelband signal contains the modulated transport stream (TS) produced by themodulator 660 performing a channel modulation of the dual transportstream (TS) multiplexed by the multiplexer 650. The demodulator 810 ofthe digital broadcast receiver 800 demodulates the modulatedtransmission stream (TS) from the received RF channel band signal. Theequalizer 820 equalizes the demodulated transport stream (TS) tomitigate dynamic multi-path and other adverse channel conditions, and toadapt itself to a dynamically changing channel.

As described above, according to the present invention, frequencyresources can be conserved and waste can be eliminated, if not reduced,by adding packet start information to a packet to be transmitted in atransmitter, and by extracting and processing the packet startinformation from the received packet in a receiver. In addition, auser's convenience can be enhanced by receiving the same broadcastsignal through the same channel number for each locality.

Various components of the digital broadcasting system, as shown in FIGS.2, 6, and 8, can be implemented in hardware, such as, for example, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC); however, whereappropriate, software, hardware, or a combination thereof can beutilized. In particular, software modules can be written, via a varietyof software languages, including C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, and manyothers. These software modules may include data and instructions whichcan also be stored on one or more machine-readable storage media, suchas dynamic or static random access memories (DRAMs or SRAMs), erasableand programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable andprogrammable read-only memories (EEPROMs) and flash memories; magneticdisks such as fixed, floppy and removable disks; other magnetic mediaincluding tape; and optical media such as compact discs (CDs) or digitalvideo discs (DVDs). Instructions of the software routines or modules mayalso be loaded or transported into the wireless cards or any computingdevices on the wireless network in one of many different ways. Forexample, code segments including instructions stored on floppy discs, CDor DVD media, a hard disk, or transported through a network interfacecard, modem, or other interface device may be loaded into the system andexecuted as corresponding software routines or modules. In the loadingor transport process, data signals that are embodied as carrier waves(transmitted over telephone lines, network lines, wireless links,cables, and the like) may communicate the code segments, includinginstructions, to the network node or element. Such carrier waves may bein the form of electrical, optical, acoustical, electromagnetic, orother types of signals.

While there have been illustrated and described what are considered tobe example embodiments of the present invention, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art and as technology develops that variouschanges and modifications, may be made, and equivalents may besubstituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scopeof the present invention. Many modifications, permutations, additionsand sub-combinations may be made to adapt the teachings of the presentinvention to a particular situation without departing from the scopethereof. Accordingly, it is intended, therefore, that the presentinvention not be limited to the various example embodiments disclosed,but that the present invention includes all embodiments falling withinthe scope of the appended claims.

1. A digital broadcast receiver to receive a transmission stream, thetransmission stream comprising a supplementary data stream and a normaldata stream, the digital broadcast receiver comprising: a demodulator todemodulate the received transmission stream; and an equalizer toequalize the demodulated transmission stream, wherein the transmissionstream is processed by a digital broadcast transmitter so that apredetermined supplementary data packet of the supplementary data streamis positioned at a predetermined position in a frame of the transmissionstream, wherein the transmission stream comprises a plurality of packetgroups, each of groups of packets comprises a determined number of datapackets, and the predetermined supplementary data packet positioned atthe predetermined position in the frame of the transmission stream is asupplementary data packet corresponding to a predetermined order in eachof groups of packets.
 2. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 1,wherein: the transmission stream is constructed so that the packet groupdivided to have a predetermined number of packets is repeated.
 3. Thedigital broadcast receiver of claim 2, wherein: the transmission streamis constructed so that the supplementary data stream packet positionedat the predetermined portion in the group is positioned on a firstpacket of the frame.
 4. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 2,wherein: the transmission stream is constructed so that thesupplementary data stream packet positioned at the predetermined portionin the group is positioned on a first packet of a field constituting theframe.
 5. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 1, wherein apredetermined supplementary data packet of the supplementary data streamis positioned at the predetermined position in the frame of thetransmission stream by interleaving.
 6. The digital broadcast receiverof claim 1, wherein the predetermined supplementary data packetpositioned at the predetermined position in the frame is a first packetof the frame.
 7. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined supplementary data packet positioned at the predeterminedposition of the frame is positioned at a predetermined position in eachgroup of packets.
 8. A stream processing method in a digital broadcastreceiver to receive a transmission stream, the transmission streamcomprising a supplementary data stream and a normal data stream, thestream processing method comprising: demodulating the receivedtransmission stream; and equalizing the demodulated transmission stream,wherein the transmission stream is processed by a digital broadcasttransmitter so that a predetermined supplementary data packet of thesupplementary data stream is positioned at a predetermined position in aframe of the transmission stream, wherein the transmission streamcomprises a plurality of packet groups, each of groups of packetscomprises a determined number of data packets, and the predeterminedsupplementary data packet positioned at the predetermined position inthe frame of the transmission stream is a supplementary data packetcorresponding to a predetermined order in each of groups of packets. 9.The stream processing method of claim 8, wherein: the transmissionstream is constructed so that the packet group divided to have apredetermined number of packets is repeated.
 10. The stream processingmethod of claim 9, wherein: the transmission stream is constructed sothat the supplementary data stream packet positioned at thepredetermined portion in the group is positioned on a first packet ofthe frame.
 11. The stream processing method of claim 9, wherein: thetransmission stream is constructed so that the supplementary data streampacket positioned at the predetermined portion in the group ispositioned on a first packet of a field constituting the frame.
 12. Thestream processing method of claim 8, wherein a data packet of the framecomprises a header comprising packet start information indicating that anext packet is a start packet of another frame.
 13. The streamprocessing method of claim 12, wherein the packet start information isinserted into the header of the data packet by a packet generatingapparatus when a count value of a number of generated packets hasreached a predetermined number of packets.
 14. The stream processingmethod of claim 8, wherein a predetermined supplementary data packet ofthe supplementary data stream is positioned at the predeterminedposition in the frame of the transmission stream by interleaving. 15.The stream processing method of claim 8, wherein the predeterminedsupplementary data packet positioned at the predetermined position inthe frame is a first packet of the frame.
 16. The stream processingmethod of claim 8, wherein the predetermined supplementary data packetpositioned at the predetermined position of the frame is positioned at apredetermined position in each group of packets.